Platform scale

ABSTRACT

A versatile scale having an easily changed readout face which due to its resiliency may be flexed to forcibly engage a retaining frame positioned adjacent to the scale mechanism indicator which is located behind the scale readout face and thus need not be removed before changing the scale face. The assembly method of the scale enclosure is designed to require a minimum number of steps and extraneous components since most of the pieces are made such that they snap together. This versatile scale also has an easily interchangeable weight receiving platform such that various arrangements may be used to support or carry the load to be weighed.

United States Patent 1191 Artwick 1 Jan. 22, 1974 [73] Assignee: HansonScale Company, Chicago,

Ill.

22 FlIedZ Oct.25, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 300,485

521 US. Cl 177/1, 177/170, 177/230, 177/243 511 1111. C1,. G01g23/14,G01g 23/26, GOlg 21/28 581 Field of Search 177/170, 1, 225, 229,230, 177/243; 116/129 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 506,941 11/1951Belgium 177/229 Primary Examiner-George H. Miller, Jr. Attorney, Agent,or FirmGeorge R. Clark [57] ABSTRACT A versatile scale having an easilychanged readout face which due to its resiliency may be flexed toforcibly engage a retaining frame positioned adjacent to the scalemechanism indicator which is located behind the scale readout face andthus need not be removed before changing the scale face. The assemblymethod of the scale enclosure is designed to require a minimum number ofsteps and extraneous components since most of the pieces are made suchthat they snap together. This versatile scale also has an easilyinterchangeable weight receiving platform such that various arrangementsmay be used to support or carry the load to be weighed.

19 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PAIENIEI] JAN 22 I974 Sam 1 ur 1 PLATFORMSCALE BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION There are a number of reasons why itbecomes desirable to have a scale readout face which may be easilychanged and a single scale design which is adaptable to being used for anumber of rather specific and particular purposes. It is the generalpractice of the scale industry to use one scale mechanism in connectionwith a number of different kinds of scales and weight receivingplatforms or receptacles. In order that the appropriate weight measuresmay be used in connection with the various scale types, a readilychangeable calibrated scale readout face and an easily assembled housingare desirable. v I

In the United States, there is a considerable amount of concern aboutchanging the common ounce/pound weight measurement to the metric systemwhereby scale readout faceswill have to be changed to read in grams andkilograms. As can be appreciated, such a change will require that manyof the scales in use should be able to be easily adapted to eithersystem. The convenience with which this change may be accomplished willbe an important feature of any present or future scale.

It has also been found that there is presently a tremendous interest inthe use of small platform scales for kitchen and gourmet purposes. Oneof these purposes is commonly referred to as calorie counting. In ascale used for this purpose it has been found that caloric informationincluded on the calibrated readout face is useful in the planning andpreparation of dietetic meals. From time to time popular diets change,and because of these faddietsit has become worthwhile to have acalibrated readout face which can be conveniently adapted to reflect thecurrent trends in dietetic cooking. Another andclosely associated scaleuse is in the field of gourmet cooking. It has been found that certainrather intricate recipes have become quite popular and the use of ascale to properly measure the ingredients is required. For this purpose,particular gourmet oriented calibrated readout faces area worthwhilearea of postal scalesflt is well known that postal rates feature for thepreparation of epicurean delights. Similarly, it is also a well knownfact that Europeans have their recipes in terms of weight measures forthe amount of each ingredient. This approach, of course, is differentfrom the practice of using volume measures for the ingredients as iscommon in the United States. Consequently, a scale which is readilyconvertible to read in grams would find a market in many countries ofthe world where the European technique is practiced.

Along the same lines, surprising numbers of the cooking public haveturned to organic and health foods and it has been found that theprocess by which foods are prepared with health reasons in mind mostclosely approximates chemical formulation. Therefore, the importance ofa scale which is readily adaptable to weighing the components of aproperly nutritious and chemically sound diet has been increasedgreatly. Consequently, the purpose of the invention disclosed herein isto solve these many culinary problems by means of a scale which isreadily adaptable in an inexpensive, convenient and efficient manner tothe task to be performed.

Another problem associated with scales which require special faces andcalibrations thereon is in the are changed from time to time and anychange in the postal rates necessitates a similar change in the readoutface on postal scales since such scales are adapted to read directly interms of the amount of postage required for a given piece of mail. Whena change in postal rates occurs, the business community must have thenew scales in service in ashort period of time so they will correctlypost their business correspondence and the recipients will not incur theexpense of postage due charges.

This invention provides an inexpensive and convenient means by which thecalibrated scale face may be interchanged-without the need of specialtools or skills. Although it is well known in the industry to have scalefaces which are mechanically fastened with tools or adhesively fastenedto some permanent backing, it has been found that these methods areinconvenient and inaccurate, respectively. That is to say, the formermechanically fastened scale faces require tools and special equipmentnot readily available in the home or office environment and the latteradhesively fastened scale faces are subject to incorrect placement,difficulty in removal and overall poor quality of appearance. The scaleindustry has learned from experience that the public is reluctant tochange the scale face until long after it has become obsolete. Thisinvention will overcome any difficulties or resistance which may haveexisted because of the need for special tools or skills to correct ascale face.

As can be appreciated from the foregoing, the versatility of such ascale requires that the weight receiving portion be easily adapted tothe particular purpose. In this invention the connection between theweight receiving portion of the scale and the scale mechanism must besuch that the effort needed to interchange from platforms to receptaclesfor the material or item to' be weighed should beaccomplished with aminimum of equipment and inconvenience. Therefore, a connection isprovided which does not require tools to disconnect but is sufficientlysecured to afford the requisite stability and yet allow for theconvenient removal and change from one weight receptacle to another.

In the prior art there have been scales which include overlyingcalibrated readout faces which were constructed to be snapped onto thescale housing without need of further fasteners. Such a scale is shownin Homs US. Pat. No. 3,413,952. Similarly, it is well known from the US.Patent to Lamb No. 2,866,940 to provide a multitude of overlyingcalibrated readout faces to be used for a number of special purposes.None of the prior art, however, teaches the combination disclosed hereinwhich provides a versatile scale which may be easily changed to suit anumber of special purposes. The scale of the present invention can bemodifiled without tools or special equipment in that the scale face iseasily removed and the scale platform may be easily interchanged.Moreover, the scale face is made from a flat sheet of material, and,therefore, is easily and inexpensively reproduced and shipped to theusers at no more expense than the cost of a letter. Consequently, thecombination allows a very versatile scale adaptable to many purposes.

While scales are considered as a rather utilitarian device and areexcepted to operate well and accurately for a number of years withoutrepair or adjustment to the basic mechanism, it is worthwhile if thescale mechanism housing or casing is readily opened in order that themechanism may be removed for internal cleaning, repair or adjustment.This invention provides a closed and relatively sealed housing which canbe entered for an easily removable scale readout mounting which servesas the front of such a scale. Although the scale mechanism is relativelyenclosed, it is arranged so that it may be easily fastened to itshousing. In addition, the pointer indicator is arranged so that it maybe easily attached to and detached from the weighing mechanism and thusfacilitate the assembly and disassembly of the scale for ease ofconstruction and maintenance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to practice the invention, there isprovided a basic structure of a cup-shaped housing with one open sideand having a scale mechanism attached to an interior wall of thehousing. The scale or weighing mechanism is of a conventional and wellknown type using the principle of l-Iooks Law in that the extension of atension spring is the basic scale weight supporting element. To thisspring are attached a series of links to which are connected avertically disposed weight receiving arm and a pair of scale pointersupporting legs. The scale is designed so that a number of differentweight receiving platforms, receptacles, etc. may be easily connected tothe upper end of the weight receiving arm by means of an interferencefit and so that a horizontally disposed scale calibration pointerindicator is releasably retained in keyed openings provided in itssupport legs. In order to accurately locate and support the calibratedreadout face in front of the indicator, there is provided a frame-likemounting which has openings through which the outwardly extending endsof the indicator support legs pass. This mounting frame is arranged tofit snugly within the edge of the open side of the scale housing.Therefore, the scale is assembled by attaching the basic mechanism to aninner wall of the housing in a known manner, inserting the readout facemounting frame into the open face of the housing, attaching the pointerindicator to the keyed openings in its supporting legs and then engagingthe resilient calibrated readout face into openings provided in themounting frame by pinching the readout face so that it may be sprunginto position. As a final step in the construction of this scale, theplatform or weight receivingv receptacle is engaged with the weightreceiving arm of the scale mechanism. This arm passes upwardly throughan opening in the cup-shaped housing provided for this purpose and theupper end of the arm has a shape which is compatible for mating with arecess provided in an abutment that is formed on the underside of theweight receiving platform or receptacle.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide acompact scale which is readily assembled and disassembled for ease offabrication and repair.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedscale readout face which can be easily removed and change to suit theapplication of the scale.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedconnection between the scale mechanism and the weight receiving platformor receptacle to facilitate the adaptation of the basic scale to anumber of tasks.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a supportingmeans for a scale indicator which requires no fasteners requiring toolsor adhesive backed labels requiring extremely accurate alignment.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a scaleof this type which is relatively simple and economical to fabricate andwhich is reliable in operation and use.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a versatilescale which may be easily converted to the task at hand without undueinconvenience or uncommon skills.

The further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds and the features ofnovelty which charac terize this invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of theversatile scale embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line2-2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the snapin assembly of the scale faceonto the scale face mounting frame;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view taken along line 33 ofFIG. 2 with the control rod and adjusting nut deleted;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the zeroing mechanism andscale spring;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the scale housing taken generallyalong line 55 of FIG. 2 and with the calibrated readout face removed;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial front elevational view illustrating thefirst step in the assembly of the weight indicator pointer to itssupporting legs;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial front elevational view illustrating thesecond step in the assembly of the weight indicator pointer to itssupporting legs;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross sectional view takengenerally along line 88 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the scale platform taken along line 99of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of the flat calibrated readout faceas viewed along line 10-10 of FIG. 2 prior to assembly of same to thescale;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of an alternate form of a weightreceiving receptacle to be used in place of the platform shown in FIGS.1 and 2;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the lower link of the scale mechanismlooking toward its underside;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the upper link of the scale mechanismshown in its inverted position; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the weight receiving arm for the scalemechanism.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a versatilescale designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The scale 10 hasgeneral proportions which are readily adaptable to a range of sizeswhich may be used for weighing large items found in the commercial orindustrial environment or for weighing small light weight items found inthe office or home such as mail to be posted. For this purpose, thescale 10 is formed of a number of basic components including a housing11 of generally cup-shaped configuration having a forwardly facing openside 12. The cup-shaped housing 1 1 consists of a top wall 13, a pair ofside walls 14 and 15, a bottom wall 16, and a rear wall 17, all of whichare best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The scale is also provided with a basicknown type scale mechanism 50 for supporting the weight receivingplatform generally designated 25 and best shown in FIG. 2. The platformhas a skirt 26 which surrounds the perimeter of the platform. As canbest be seen in FIG. I there is a scale face mounting frame 30positioned within the lip or edge formed at the mouth 12 of the openside of housing 11 where the side walls 14 and 15 meet top and bottomwalls 13 and 16. This frame 30 is provided for 10- cating, supporting,mounting, and generally shaping a calibrating scale readout face 40.

In order to more specifically describe the working components of thescale, reference is made to FIG. 2 where there is shown a crosssectional view of housing 11 wherein wall 14 has been removed in orderto better illustrate the basic scale mechanism 50. As illustrated, themechanism 50 includes a vertically disposed weight receiving arm 51, apair of upper and lower movable supporting links 52 and 57 forsupporting the weight receiving arm, the upper link 52 and the lowerlink 57 being supported at their rear ends on a pivot support 53 whichis mounted on the inner surface of the rear wall 17 of the housing llbymeans of a flat headed selftapping sheet metal screw 54 and a pair ofsupport projections 55 molded as part of the interior surface of therear wall 17 and projecting inwardly thereof. At the base of theprojections 55 there is a boss or integral washer portion 56 provided tospace the scale mechanism 50 a slight distance away from the innersurface of the rear wall 17. As can be seen best in FIGS. 12 and 13, thelower link 57 and the upper link 52 are of a general U-shapedconfiguration having a pair of spaced side legs connected to the bightportion of the U. As shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, the lower link 57 ischaracterized by forwardly projecting extensions 58 and 59 of the sidelegs which are adapted to support an elongated horizontally disposedpointer or indicator 70 at their outermost ends. The upper link 52 alsohas a pair of side legs 49 through which there are provided four pivotholes 48. These side legs 49 are connected at their opposite ends bybight portions 47 of the U. The bight portions 47 serve to space apartthe side legs 49 in order to give stability to the pivoting upper link52. A similar construction is also used on lower link 57 wherein thebight portions are designated as 46. As best shown in FIG. 12 thelocation of the bight portions 46 with respect to the side legs 58 and59 are near the rearward end of the lower link 57 and are spaced similarto that spacing of the bight portions 47 of upper link 52. Lower link 57also has pivot holes 64 located in the rearward end of legs 58 and 59and the holes 64 are adjacent the connection of the bight portions 47and the legs 58 and 59 and are positioned with identical spacing to thespacing of the holes 48 in the upper link 52.

In order that the weight receiving arm 51 will movably cooperate withthe links 57 and 52, the arm 51 is also of a U-shaped constructionhaving a left side member 60 and a right side member 61 connected by abight portion 62. The bight portion 62 of the weight receiving arm 51 isof an identical dimension to a bight portion 63 of the pivot support 53both of which are just slightly wider than the distance between thesides of the upper link 57 and the lower link 52. In order to pivotallyconnect the upper link 52 and the lower link 57 to the sides 60 and 61of the weight receiving arm 51, there are provided a pair of spacedholes 44 in each of the side members and 61 of the arm 51. These holes44 are spaced similar to complementary holes 43 provided on sides 42 ofthe U-shaped pivotsupport. It can thus be seen that when assembled tothe pivot support 53 and the weight receiving arm 51, the upper link 52and the lower link 57 will pivot in a parallel locus about the pivotsupport holes 43 because the spacing of the holes 43 on the pivotsupport 53 and the weight receiving arm 51 are identical. In order toform the parallel link supporting structure for the weight receiving arm51, two pivot pins 45 are used to connect the upper link 52 and thelower link 57 to the pivot support 53 and two more pivot pins 45 connectthe weight receiving arm 51 to the links. The head end view of the pins45 is shown in FIG. 2.

Immediately adjacent the holes 43 and 44 there are embossed recesses 41so that there is accurate alignment with a minimum of friction area atthe pivot points. Therefore, the upper and lower links 52 and 57 readilyfit and are accurately positioned for parallel pivotal movement aboutthe pivot support holes 43 and the weight receiving arm holes 44.Furthermore, the embossed recesses 41 near the pivot-support holes 43and the weight arm holes 44 cooperate with the pins 45 and thecorresponding holes 48 in the upper link 52 and the pivot holes 64 inthe lower link 57, respectively, causing the weight receiving arm 51 tomove with very little friction in a substantially vertical directionthrough an opening 18a provided in the top wall 13 of the housing 11,while the outward end of extensions 58 and 59 of lower link 57 move in abroad arcuate path.

For the purpose of supporting the load to be weighed in a fashion suchthat the movement of the weight receiving arm will be proportional tothe load supported, a vertically positioned tension coil spring isconnected to the weight receiving arm 51 at its lower end by means of ahook 76 formed out of half of the lowermost coil of the spring 75 and abent tab 71 on weight receiving arm 51. The bent tab 71 includes a hole72 for spring hook 76. At the upper end of the tension spring 75 thereis an adjustable zeroing mechanism connected to a support nut 81 whichrides in a chamfered hole 20 located in a recessed portion 18 of the topwall 13 of the housing 11. This adjustable zeroing mechanism 80 is bestshown in FIG. 4 and the chamfered hole 20 is also shown in FIG. 3. Thechamfered hole 20 has an entry channel 19 for the opening 18a whichfacilitates the assembly of the zeroing mechanism 80 to the housing topwall 13 and the recess 18 therein. Between the support nut 81 and thetension spring 75 there is a threaded control rod 82 which at its upperend is threadedly received in the support nut 81 and at its lower end isconnected to the spring 75 by means of a retaining washer 83. Theretaining washer 83 is of a hat shape having a beveled and angularflange such that it may be threaded into the coils of the tension spring75 and yet the washer opening through its center is still in perfectalignment with the axis of the coil spring 75. The bottom of control rod82 is upset to provide a surface which will not pass through the hole inthe retaining washer 83 and in addition there is a stamped flat section84 on the control rod 82 which, as will be seen from what follows,assists in the assembly of the zeroing mechanism 80 to the scale housing11. The zeroing mechanism 80 may be assembled as a sub-assembly and thenattached to the hole 72 in bent tab 71 before it is pivoted intoposition and the flat section 84 of the control rod 82 is slid throughentry channel 19 to position support nut 81 in the chamfered hole 20.Once assembled, the flat section 84 is positioned below the channel 19such that the control rod 82 is captured in the hole 20. Therefore, thetension on the support spring 75 may be readily varied by turningsupport nut 81. Since right hand threads are used, the spring tensionmay be increased by turning the support nut 81 clockwise from above andconversely the spring tension may be decreased by turning the supportnut counterclockwise, also from above. In addition to the previouslymentioned assembly the scale mechanism 50 to the cup-shaped housing 11and the assembly of the zeroing mechanism 80 to the scale mechanism 50and the housing 11 there are several further steps in the completion ofthe construction of the versatile scale disclosed herein. As shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and S, and as previously mentioned, the mounting frame islocated in the open side or mouth 12 of the cup-shaped housing 11. Inorder to accurately position and firmly connect the mounting frame 30 tothe inside lip of the open side 12, there are provided mounting lugs 21and 22 on the top and bottom edges of the mounting frame 30. The insideedge of housing 11 on the open side 12 is provided with complementaryrecesses 23 and 24. Recesses 23 are located on the inside edge of topwall 13 so as to provide a locking opening for top lugs'21 whereas thebottom recess 24 is positioned in the center of the inside edge ofbottom wall 16 of the housing 11 so as to cooperate with the lug 22.Therefore, the mounting frame 30 is securely snapped into the mouth 12of housing 11 by the pair of top lugs 21 and the unitary bottom lug 22in a manner such that frame 30 may only be mounted and locked in oneposition within the open side 12 of housing 11. The mounting frame 30 isof a rather intricate design having a shallow box-likeconstruction witha convex rear wall 31 when viewed from the front of the scale. The rearwall 31 connects to a forwardly and upwardly inclined top wall 32 and asimilarly forwardly and downwardly inclined bottom wall 33. Along eachside of rear frame wall 31 are a pair of side walls 34 which areidentical except that they are the mirror image of one another. As canbest be seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, there is provided an inwardly projectingridge or shelf 35 on each of the side walls 34. These shelves 35 arealso convex, and, therefore, concentric to the surface of the rear wall31. The calibrated scale readout face is supported on these convexedsurfaces 35 when in its mounted or assembled position.

As already discussed, the scale mechanism and the zeroing mechanism 80are readily fastened to the housing 11. From the foregoing, it isunderstandable that the mounting frame 30 may also be firmly snappedinto the open side 12 of housing 11 in its required location due to therecesses and lugs provided for this purpose. In the convex rear wall 31of the mounting frame 30 there are a pair of vertically extendingslotted openings 29 through which the outwardly extending legs 58 and 59of the lower link 57 may pass as shown in FIG. 2. These slotted openings29 are vertically elongated in order to allow unrestrained verticalmovement of extension legs 58 and 59 under the influence of variousconditions of scale loading. As can be appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 5,the ends of legs 58 and 59 are used to support the pointer indicator 70.For this purpose there are keyed openings provided in the outwardmostends of legs 58 and 59 for the mounting and location of the pointerindicator. In leg 58 there is an opening 65 and in leg 59 there is anopening 66. While opening 66 is a closed figure of a square shape, theopening 65 is similarly square but has an open slot 67 going to theoutwardmost face of the leg 58. As is shown in the end view in FIG. 8,the pointer indicator has a generally square cross section. However,there is a ridge 73 located on the face of the pointer which is used asa pointing element. In order to facilitate the accurate use of thescale, this ridge 73 is hot stamped with an appropriate contrasting andeasily noticed color. The ridge 73 also has another function in that itis a locating device which cooperates with slot 67 such that the pointerindicator is accurately located at the center line of legs 58 and 59.Turning now to FIGS. 6 and 7 which show the assembly technique for thepointer indicator 70 to the legs 58 and 59, we can see that there are aset of left hand projections 68 and a set of right hand projections 69toward the opposite ends of pointer indicator 70. FIG. 7 shows the firststep in the assembly of the pointer indicator 70 to its support legs 58and 59. The end of the pointer indicator 70 closest to projection 69 isinserted and slid into opening 65 in leg 58 until the projections 69 arebrought to bear against leg 58 so as to force leg 58 to the right asshown in FIG. 7 where upon the opposite end of pointer 70, that is theend closest to projection 68, may be raised so as to align that end ofthe pointer 70 with opening 66 in leg 59. The aligned pointer 70 is thenpushed to the right position as best shown in FIG. 6. Due to theresiliency of legs 58 and 59 the force on the pointer to spring or pushleg 58 to the right may be relaxed allowing the end of pointer 70closest to projections 68 to seat in opening 66 of leg 59 so that theprojections 68 rest against the side of leg 59 as best shown in FIG. 5.In order to remove the pointer indicator 70, the reverse procedure isemployed.

In addition to the previously mentioned assembly of the scale mechanism50 to the housing 11 and the zeroing mechanism to the scale mechanism 50and the housing 11 and further assembly of the mounting frame 30 to thehousing 11 and the pointer indicator 70 to the scale mechanism 50 thereis yet another easily performed step in the completion of theconstruction of the versatile scale disclosed herein and that is themounting of the scale readout face 40 to the mounting frame 30. So thatthis may be accomplished without tools or other equipment, there areprovided extending portions or tabs of the readout face 40 whichcooperate with the recesses provided on the frame 30. To be morespecific, on the top frame wall 32 and the bottom frame wall 33 thereare included mounting openings 36 and 37a and 37b immediately adjacentto the connection of walls 32 and 33 to the top and bottom edge of theconvex rear wall 31 of the mounting frame 30. The openings 36 arecentered in the middle of top frame wall 32 and bottom frame wall 33whereas the mounting openings 37a are located at the right on top framewall 32 and bottom frame wall 33 and the openings 37b are located at theleft on top frame wall 32 and bottom frame wall 33 when viewed as inFIG. 5. The calibrated readout face 40 as shown in FIG. 10 has locatedupon its top and bottom a pair of extending portions or tabs generallylabeled 38 and 39a and 39b. Portions 38 are designed to cooperate withcenter mounting openings 36 of the mounting frame 30. Similarly, theextended portions 39a of the calibrated readout face 40 are designed tocooperate with mounting openings 37a of mounting .frame 30 and extendingportions 39b of the calibrated readout face 40 are arranged to mate withmounting openings 37b of mounting frame 30. Since there are extendingportions 38, 39a and 39b on the resilient calibrated readout face 40,there is sufficient mounting support to make the face 40 accurately fitthe counter of the convexed surfaces of shelves 35 notwithstanding theflexibility of the face 40. It can be readily appreciated that theextended portions of the readout face 40 are arranged so that thereadout face may only be inserted and located in one position within themounting frame 30.

In order to best illustrate the technique of inserting the readout face40 to the mounting frame 30 we again refer to FIG. 2 and in particularthe sketches shown to the right of the main cross sectional view whereinthe various stages of bending the scale readout face 40 in order toinsert it and its retaining extended portions 38, 39a and 39b into themounting openings 36, 37a and 37b, respectively, of frame 30 are shown.As is illustrated, the user grasps the flat flexible readout face 40 andexerts a downward pressure with the upper digit and an upward pressurewith the lower digit to cause extending portions 38, 39a and 39b to moveinwardly somewhat in order to pass within the inside edges of top framewall 32 and bottom frame wall 33 such that the extended face portions38, 39a and 39b may then be engaged with their mounting openings 36, 37aand 37b, respectively. FIGS. 1 and show the calibrated readout face forthe scale. As can be seen there are a series of slots 40a which areeither transparent or completely open which allow for the ridge 73 ofthe pointer indicator 70 to be aligned with a plurality of readoutscales 40b. Consequently, a load being weighed can be read in variousunits of weight or when used in connection with postage may be weighedfor various parcel post zones or different postage rates such asregular'or air mail. The calibrated readout face can be made of a numberof materials to facilitate the addition of scale designations thereon.For instance, the flat resilient material could be a piece of filmcalibrated by means of a photographic process, a piece of resilientpaper or plastic calibrated by a printing process, a resilient piece ofmetal to which the calibrations are added by stamping process, or apiece of material suitable for having the calibrations added by etchingor lithography.

To complete the study of the assembly and construction of this versatilescale, it should be noted that there is an improved means of attachingthe weight receiving platform 25 of FIGS. 1 and 2, or alternatively, areceptacle 90 as shown in FIG. 11 to the weight receiving arm 51. Thereceptacle 90 is quite similar to the platform 25 at its bottom side inthat it has a skirt portion and a C-shaped cavity 28 formed by wallsnormal to the bottom of the receptacle. Atop the platform portion,however, there is added a basket-like structure having similar front,rear and side walls generally labeled 91. Along the top edge of thereceptacle 90 there is a reinforcing rim 92 which is added to providethe necessary strength for the open upwardly facing side of thereceptacle 90. In the walls 91 of the receptacle 90 there are provided aseries of openings 93. These openings 93 are provided to facilitate theobservation of the quantity of material being weighed within thereceptacle 90. However, the walls may also be solid as for weighingingredients for cooking, baking, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 9 which shows the bottom view of platform 25 orreceptacle it can be seen that there is an abutment thereon whichconsists of three walls forming a cavity 28 to receive the upper end ofweight receiving arm 51. The cavity 28 has a generally C-shape and isarranged to fit tightly against the sides 60 and 61 of the topstabilizing shelf 77 of the weight receiving arm 51. As can be seen inFIG. 2 the rearwardly extending portion of the shelf 77 is such that itpasses through the open side of the C-shaped cavity 28 while at the topand bottom edges of the open side of the C cavity 28 there are extendingareas 27 which overlap the rearwardly facing edge of sides 60 and 61.Therefore, the C-shaped cavity provides an all encompassing openingreceiving the upper end of the weight receiving arm 51. In order tocreate a proper interference fit between the weight receiving arm 51 andthe platform C-shaped cavity 28, there are provided embossedprotuberances 78 in the side walls 60 and 61 and in the bight portiontherebetween. These protuberances cause an interference fit between theinside of the C-shaped cavity and the upper portion of the weightreceiving arm. It should be appreciated that the natural resiliency ofthe mating parts and the contact between the protuberances 78 on theweight receiving arm 51 and the inside of the walls of the C-shapedcavity 28 create the necessary interference fit to retain the platformon the arm 51. Because all of the loading on the platform 25 or thereceptacle 90 is in a downward direction, the stabilizing shelf 77 takesmost of the loading. It should be appreciated, however, that theextending portions 27 operate to overcome any moment caused by anoff-center loading whichare primarily toward the rear of the platform 25or receptacle 90. It can be seen now that in order to engage theplatform 25 or receptacle 90 with the weight receiving arm 51 it isnecessary only to align the C-shaped cavity with the upper end of theweight receiving arm 51 and press the two together thus inserting thearm 51 until the shelf 77 seats against the bottom of the platform 25 orreceptacle 90.

While there has been shown and described a single embodiment of thepresent invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and modifications may be made without departing from theinvention in its broader aspects and it is, therefore, contemplated inthe appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. A scale comprising a cup-shaped housing with an open side, a scalemechanism enclosed in said housing,

a calibrated readout face covering said open side of said housing, amounting member for said calibrated readout face, said mounting memberbeing located within the lip of said open side of said housing, saidcalibrated readout face being located at the outer edge of said.mountingmember, an aperture in a wall of said housing for a weight receiving armof said scale mechanism, a weight indicator connected to said arm andcontrolled by said scale mechanism, said weight indicator being locatedbetween said mounting member and said calibrated readout face and havingportions adjacent to said calibrations and being visible throughportions of said calibration readout face for indicating the properweight reading.

2. The scale of claim 1 wherein said mounting member is provided withlocating means, and said calibrated readout face is a flat piece ofresilient material adapted to be resiliently engaged with said locatingmeans for positioning and shaping said calibrated readout face in anarcuate manner so as to lie in front of the path of said weightindicator.

3. The scale of claim 2 wherein thecalibrated readout device is a pieceof film such that the calibration may be added to the readout face by aphotographic process.

4. The scale of claim 2 wherein the calibrated readoutface has elongatedopenings therethrough, the longer sides of which are normal to thecalibrations thereon such that the weight indicator may align with saidcalibrations and be seen through said openings.

5. The scale of claim 4 wherein said calibrations are added to saidreadout face by means of a printing process.

6. The scale of claim 4 wherein said calibrations are added to saidreadout face by means of a stamping process.

7. The scale of claim 4 wherein said calibrations are added to saidreadout face by means of an etching process.

8. The scale of claim 4 wherein said calibrations are added to saidreadout face by means of a lithographic process.

9. The scale of claim 2 wherein said locating means are recesses forcooperative engagement with said calibrated readout face.

10. The scale of claim 9 wherein tabs are provided on said calibratedreadout device for engagement with said recesses.

11. The scale of claim 10 wherein said calibrated readout face isarranged with tabs located for mating with corresponding recesses toassure that said readout device may only be mounted in one way.

12. A scale comprising a cup-shaped housing with an open side, a scalemechanism enclosed in said housing, a calibrated readout face forcovering the open side of said cup-shaped housing, a mounting member forlocating said calibrated readout face, an aperture in a wall of saidhousing for a weight receiving arm of said scale mechanism, a weightindicator connected to said weight receiving arm and controlled by saidscale mechanism, said weight indicator having a pair of legs forsupporting an indicator pointer, said indicator pointer being locatedadjacent said calibrated readout face for pointing to the appropriatecalibrations. 13. The scale of claim 12 wherein said weight indicatorlegs are resilient and spaced apart from one another, openings providedin said mounting member through which said legs may pass, locatingapertures in the outer ends of said pointer supporting legs forretaining said indicator pointer, said apertures being keyed to theshape of said indicator pointer such that said pointer may only bemounted in one position.

14. The scale of claim 13 wherein said indicating pointer is resilientlyretained between the spaced legs of said weight indicator, said pointerhaving an outwardly facing upstanding ridge of thin cross section foruse as a pointing and indicating element and two pairs of ears againstwhich said resilient legs abut.

15. A scale comprising a cup-shaped housing with an open side, a scalemechanism disposed in said housing, said scale mechanism being mountedto an inside wall of said housing by a fastener and locating members, acalibrated readout face for covering said open side of said housing, amounting member for said calibrated readout face, said mounting memberbeing disposed adjacent the edge of said open side of said housing, an

aperture in a wall of said housing for a weight receiving arm of saidscale mechanism, a weight indicator connected to said arm and controlledby said scale mechanism, said weight indicator having outwardlyextending portions which pass through openings in said mounting memberin order to carry a pointer indicator for said calibrated readout face.

16. The scale of claim 15 wherein said open side is completely coveredby said calibrated readout face and said mounting member supports saidcalibrated readout face in front of said pointer indicator, saidmounting member acting as a backdrop for said calibrated readout face.

17. The scale of claim 16 wherein said weight receiving arm is ofU-shaped cross section and mates with a weight receiving member ofsubstantially greater size, said weight receiving member having adepending U- shaped abutment normal thereto which is shaped to fittightly around said weight receiving arm, a horizontal appendageprovided atop said weight receiving arm for stabilizing said weightreceiving member, a plurality of bumps provided on the walls of saidU-shaped weight receiving arm for assuring an interference fit betweensaid weight receiving member abutment and said arm.

18. The scale of claim 17 wherein said calibrated readout face isresiliently sprung into receiving recesses provided in said mountingmeans in order that said readout may be inserted and removed without theuse of tools.

19. A process for manufacturing a scale comprising the steps of forminga cup-shaped housing having an open front side; inserting a scalemechanism into said cup-shaped housing through the open side of saidhousing; fastening said scale mechanism to an interior wall of saidscale housing; installing a mounting means for a calibrated readout facein the edge of said open side of said cup-shaped housing; attaching aweight receiving member to a weight receiving arm of said scalemechanism, said arm passing through an aperture in a wall of saidcup-shaped housing; inserting and resiliently retaining a pointerindicator into a pair of legs provided on said scale mechanism, saidpointer assing through openings in said mounting means; and snapping aresilient calibrated readout face into said mounting means.

1. A scale comprising a cup-shaped housing with an open side, a scalemechanism enclosed in said housing, a calibrated readout face coveringsaid open side of said housing, a mounting member for said calibratedreadout face, said mounting mEmber being located within the lip of saidopen side of said housing, said calibrated readout face being located atthe outer edge of said mounting member, an aperture in a wall of saidhousing for a weight receiving arm of said scale mechanism, a weightindicator connected to said arm and controlled by said scale mechanism,said weight indicator being located between said mounting member andsaid calibrated readout face and having portions adjacent to saidcalibrations and being visible through portions of said calibrationreadout face for indicating the proper weight reading.
 2. The scale ofclaim 1 wherein said mounting member is provided with locating means,and said calibrated readout face is a flat piece of resilient materialadapted to be resiliently engaged with said locating means forpositioning and shaping said calibrated readout face in an arcuatemanner so as to lie in front of the path of said weight indicator. 3.The scale of claim 2 wherein the calibrated readout device is a piece offilm such that the calibration may be added to the readout face by aphotographic process.
 4. The scale of claim 2 wherein the calibratedreadout face has elongated openings therethrough, the longer sides ofwhich are normal to the calibrations thereon such that the weightindicator may align with said calibrations and be seen through saidopenings.
 5. The scale of claim 4 wherein said calibrations are added tosaid readout face by means of a printing process.
 6. The scale of claim4 wherein said calibrations are added to said readout face by means of astamping process.
 7. The scale of claim 4 wherein said calibrations areadded to said readout face by means of an etching process.
 8. The scaleof claim 4 wherein said calibrations are added to said readout face bymeans of a lithographic process.
 9. The scale of claim 2 wherein saidlocating means are recesses for cooperative engagement with saidcalibrated readout face.
 10. The scale of claim 9 wherein tabs areprovided on said calibrated readout device for engagement with saidrecesses.
 11. The scale of claim 10 wherein said calibrated readout faceis arranged with tabs located for mating with corresponding recesses toassure that said readout device may only be mounted in one way.
 12. Ascale comprising a cup-shaped housing with an open side, a scalemechanism enclosed in said housing, a calibrated readout face forcovering the open side of said cup-shaped housing, a mounting member forlocating said calibrated readout face, an aperture in a wall of saidhousing for a weight receiving arm of said scale mechanism, a weightindicator connected to said weight receiving arm and controlled by saidscale mechanism, said weight indicator having a pair of legs forsupporting an indicator pointer, said indicator pointer being locatedadjacent said calibrated readout face for pointing to the appropriatecalibrations.
 13. The scale of claim 12 wherein said weight indicatorlegs are resilient and spaced apart from one another, openings providedin said mounting member through which said legs may pass, locatingapertures in the outer ends of said pointer supporting legs forretaining said indicator pointer, said apertures being keyed to theshape of said indicator pointer such that said pointer may only bemounted in one position.
 14. The scale of claim 13 wherein saidindicating pointer is resiliently retained between the spaced legs ofsaid weight indicator, said pointer having an outwardly facingupstanding ridge of thin cross section for use as a pointing andindicating element and two pairs of ears against which said resilientlegs abut.
 15. A scale comprising a cup-shaped housing with an openside, a scale mechanism disposed in said housing, said scale mechanismbeing mounted to an inside wall of said housing by a fastener andlocating members, a calibrated readout face for covering said open sideof said housing, a mounting member for said calibrated readout face,said mOunting member being disposed adjacent the edge of said open sideof said housing, an aperture in a wall of said housing for a weightreceiving arm of said scale mechanism, a weight indicator connected tosaid arm and controlled by said scale mechanism, said weight indicatorhaving outwardly extending portions which pass through openings in saidmounting member in order to carry a pointer indicator for saidcalibrated readout face.
 16. The scale of claim 15 wherein said openside is completely covered by said calibrated readout face and saidmounting member supports said calibrated readout face in front of saidpointer indicator, said mounting member acting as a backdrop for saidcalibrated readout face.
 17. The scale of claim 16 wherein said weightreceiving arm is of U-shaped cross section and mates with a weightreceiving member of substantially greater size, said weight receivingmember having a depending U-shaped abutment normal thereto which isshaped to fit tightly around said weight receiving arm, a horizontalappendage provided atop said weight receiving arm for stabilizing saidweight receiving member, a plurality of bumps provided on the walls ofsaid U-shaped weight receiving arm for assuring an interference fitbetween said weight receiving member abutment and said arm.
 18. Thescale of claim 17 wherein said calibrated readout face is resilientlysprung into receiving recesses provided in said mounting means in orderthat said readout may be inserted and removed without the use of tools.19. A process for manufacturing a scale comprising the steps of forminga cup-shaped housing having an open front side; inserting a scalemechanism into said cup-shaped housing through the open side of saidhousing; fastening said scale mechanism to an interior wall of saidscale housing; installing a mounting means for a calibrated readout facein the edge of said open side of said cup-shaped housing; attaching aweight receiving member to a weight receiving arm of said scalemechanism, said arm passing through an aperture in a wall of saidcup-shaped housing; inserting and resiliently retaining a pointerindicator into a pair of legs provided on said scale mechanism, saidpointer passing through openings in said mounting means; and snapping aresilient calibrated readout face into said mounting means.